The Rangers will head to Arizona for spring training next week with more substantive questions about the club than perhaps at any time in the last decade. They are coming off just their second losing season since 2009 and looking up at a division that includes the defending world champions for the first time in 16 years.

Each day this week, we will examine one of the questions they will attempt to answer in the six weeks leading up to the March 29 opener against the world champion Houston Astros:

No. 2: Better understand the impact of strikeouts on both sides of the ball

The Rangers have to address a strikeout issue.

In short, they piled up too many on offense and, on the pitching side, they lacked the ability to own a hitter in situations when it was most needed. As a result, offensive opportunities often evaporated while opponents capitalized in similar situations.

"We can do a better job in general commanding the strike zone on both sides," general manager Jon Daniels said. "It was a conscious effort in our acquisition strategy this winter, particularly on the pitching side."

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Start with the offensive side, because that's where the situation is more stark. Yes, there are more strikeouts in the game. MLB hitters have set annual strikeout records every year since 2008, with MLB going over 40,000 strikeouts for the first time last year. The new record represented an increase of 2.9 percent over the previous mark. The Rangers were overachievers. Their new strikeout record of 1,493 set last year represented a 19 percent increase over their previous high.

Two issues stood out: The concentration of strikeouts in the bottom half of the batting order and hopeless flailing against relief pitchers.

Over the bottom five spots in the order, the Rangers had the highest number of strikeouts in the AL at No. 5, No. 6 and No. 8, were second at No. 9 and fourth at No. 7. It left manager Jeff Banister often having to construct a lineup in a way as to not necessarily prioritize his best hitters, but to try and break up clumps of strikeouts that would almost automatically short-circuit innings.

The bottom half of the lineup is where Rougned Odor and Joey Gallo resided. Those are two young guys still gaining experience who must improve their strike zone command. The same must be said of guys fighting for spots such as Jurickson Profar, Ryan Rua and Drew Robinson.

"Strikeouts are a part of the game more than ever before," Banister said. "It's how you strike out and when you strike out. Does your team clump them together? We can do a much better job at game situations and getting productive outs. As our young guys gain more experience, they will get better balance between when to be aggressive and when to be more patient."

The other element is finding a better approach against relievers. The Rangers led the AL with 660 strikeouts against relief pitchers. Either they were simply too aggressive or lacked a clear understanding of how pitchers planned to attack them. They must refine their approach this spring.

On the pitching side, the Rangers had the third-worst two-out strikeout-to-walk rate in the AL at 1.92. Instead of ending innings swiftly, too often, extra batters got opportunities and pitches piled up. That led to 292 runs allowed with two outs, fourth most in the AL.

Combine the strikeout issues on both sides and you have a suddenly-stopping offense unable to tack on extra runs against relievers and a bullpen that simply can't stop rallies. The result: Opponents outscored the Rangers by an average of a half a run per game from the sixth inning on. It led to an AL-high 14 losses when leading after six innings.

Where the starting rotation is concerned, the Rangers attacked it by adding more strikeout ability. Mike Minor, Matt Moore and Doug Fister combined to average 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings. Last year, the Rangers' rotation ranked last in the AL at 6.3 strikeouts per nine innings.

The expectation is for strikeouts to go up on that side of the ball and come down on the other.

Piling up strikeouts

A look at strikeouts in the Rangers' batting order spot-by-spot and how it ranked in the AL. While AL strikeout leader Tampa Bay had issues at the top of the lineup, the Rangers led in strikeouts in the most individual spots (three) and struggled especially in the bottom half of the lineup:

Position

Strikeouts

Rank

Leader

No. 1

177

3

Tampa Bay

No. 2

140

8

Tampa Bay

No. 3

119

11

NY Yankees

No. 4

139

8

Oakland

No. 5

203

1

Rangers

No. 6

191

1

Rangers

No. 7

168

4

Oakland

No. 8

177

1

Rangers

No. 9

179

2

Chicago White Sox

A losing formula

Rangers pitchers lacked the ability to strike hitters out with two outs and compounded their problems by being among the AL teams that walked the most batters with two outs. The result: They were among the leaders in allowing opponents two-out runs. A look at those teams that allowed the most two-out runs: